Four Yards of Rainbow Road
by Ike4ever
Summary: Ike is an orphan, adopted by a man people would scorn as a father. Ike is a brother to men and boys that rule over their sector of the city with an iron fist. Ike is a money-maker who sells something that has power he cannot even fathom. Ike is a criminal, who would be jailed by the League of Heroes the instant he gave them a chance. And Ike will fight any threat to the death.
1. Chapter 1

**And I will honestly say I do not know why I am doing this, because I barely have any time to write. But I have this idea and it won't let me be. If you're an avid author, you know how that is. Say yes.**

 **I hope this proves to be extremely interesting. I hope you love it.**

* * *

He stared at the far corner of the truck, blinking every time the vehicle bounced over some uneven pavement. But the blue eyes never strayed from the blackest corner of the back of the transport. He wanted to think, but he also didn't want to. Thinking hurt. It hurt his foggy brain and head that ached from lack of water, and it hurt his broken heart.

There was an exceptionally large bounce and he didn't have the strength to stop himself from slamming backwards against one of the metal sides with a dull crash. The sudden movement brought him out of the semi-daze he had been in as he stared at the corner. His eyes sought the comforting darkness again, but his mind was not as foggy now. His head had struck the side of the truck and it seemed to have knocked loose all the thoughts he'd been trying to keep back.

They came like a flood, rushing over his head and he squeezed his eyes shut, his thick eyebrows knitting and chiseling two frown lines into the center of his forehead. The small, barred window at the top of the prison car was imprinted in his vision, the five strips of light illuminating the pitch black everywhere else. But slowly everything faded to a deep red and two tears leaked from the corners of his eye.

Everything had gone wrong. He was still trying to find someone to blame. He couldn't blame himself. He couldn't blame his father. He couldn't blame his brother. In fact, deep down, he realized he couldn't even blame the League of Heroes. After all, they were doing what they thought was right. And they had destroyed his life. The thought brought another wave of tears to his eyes.

* * *

"Get your tail over here and help load up this truck!" Ike snapped at his brother. "I'm telling you, Pit, if you don't get it together, someday Father will lay into you and I won't even be able to laugh."

"Ha, ha," griped Pit, plodding over and squatting to lift one of the smaller, wooden crates. "What number's this one?"

"Two seventy one," answered Marth, absently flipping a marker over to his younger brother as he wrote something else on his clipboard with his pen.

Pit caught the marker, bit off the cap with his teeth, spit it onto the asphalt, and squinted as he clutched the writing utensil in his fist.

Ike heaved up the largest remaining crate and glanced at Pit, watching as he carefully wrote the three numbers on the wood, his brown hair obscuring half his vision.

"Your tongue, Pit," he chuckled. "It's poking out again."

"Shut it," Pit returned evenly. He tossed the marker over to Ike, who brought up his hand quickly and then slammed it down, grabbing the marker as it fell and turning in the same instant to jot down his own three numbers on the crate.

"Ike, two seventy four, not seventy three. _That_ one's seventy three," Marth remonstrated, tapping his pen on the clipboard.

"Well even if you can write faster, I listen to instructions," taunted Pit, grinning.

Ike rolled his eyes, crossed out the wrong number, and wrote the correct one. "Marth, who's goin' with me?"

"I am. That's what Father said anyway. Pit, why don't you go make sure."

"Why?" the younger boy asked, cocking his head and brushing his wild, brown hair from his eyes. "What don't you want me to hear?"

Both of his older brothers slowly turned to give him two, hard, deadly glares. He skedaddled towards the stairs. When the garage no longer echoed with his footsteps, Marth walked over and leapt up onto the back of the truck, sitting down on a crate and crossing his legs. "Father's upset about Bowser."

"Who isn't?" growled Ike, frustrated. "And I know that, anyway."

"But he's gotten bolder about spying on us," insisted Marth. "I mean, he's not even hiding it anymore. You know it. If we let him get cocky, we'll have a ton of complaining people on our hands, as well as less and less land."

"It's not that simple to move the boundaries of the four yards," returned Ike.

"It's been done before," answered Marth. "Four yards is only twelve feet, and that's not difficult to change around. Especially when the other, non-border roads are even bigger."

"The four yards isn't just asphalt. It's rainbow road and it costs a lot more money. I don't know what you know about Bowser, but from what _I_ know, he's not raking in the cash."

"He is, too," snapped Marth.

"I mean he's not _saving_ his cash," Ike corrected himself. "He's always buying the newest in weapons and vehicles and I can guarantee you he isn't thinking about saving up enough to buy 6 blocks or more of rainbow road. He'd have to import it and everything."

"He just wants to expand to get the market," Marth said. "You know it. He doesn't know what Father sells, but he knows it's making us…"

"Wealthy," Ike finished for him as his brother hesitated. "Yeah, sure. We'll look around a little. But Bowser is too caught up in his own affairs to try and keep up conquest without official boundaries like the rainbow. He'd have to leave cronies in our land and evict all those citizens if he expected to keep us from just taking it back."

"I know. Dad basically told me that if Bowser's doing something, everyone would know about it, part of a gang or not. But he still said he was worried."

Ike dragged his fingers through his hair, ending at the headband's knot at the back of his head. "Well, we all know Dad's smarter than I ever was, so I certainly won't brush it off. Either way, you don't think it's a dangerous threat to our people, do you?"

"Father did. And honesty is most important."

Ike snorted. "That's baloney. How honest you think anyone is, Father included? Don't tell him I said that. Either way, it's fine. After business today at the train station we can go scout around. What do you say?"

"Yeah, sure. Let's check with Dad and then ask Falcon if we can take his—"

"You can't take my car!" Falcon called.

Ike glanced over at his older brother's workshop, which had been built in the corner of the garage. The shop's smaller, white garage door slid up with a rattle and Falcon pulled himself out from under his prized vehicle.

"Don't even think about it or say it, Marth. You're in enough trouble as it is."

Marth colored and retorted, "I still say it was a malfunction of the engine!"

"It was a malfunction of your brain!" Falcon retorted.

Ike chuckled as Marth huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Yep, Ike!" came Pit's voice, echoing and reechoing through the large, underground garage. He appeared at the bottom of the stairway. "Dad said you're going with Marth."

"I'm going to talk to him real quick," Ike informed his bluenette brother. "I'll be back in a jiffy and I'll bring a snack."

He passed Pit. "Hey, ask Koro to make Marth and I a small dinner to take," Ike ordered him before jogging up the stairs to the ground floor. He pushed open the metal door with a grunt and walked swiftly down the hall, turning sharply right and barely missing the corner. He did _not_ barely miss Roy. He crashed right into him.

"Watch it!" exclaimed the redhead. "Dad said he didn't want to be disturbed by the way."

"It's just a quick question," returned Ike shortly, sidestepping and briskly passing him.

He hesitated in front of the door and then pulled it open and stepped inside. The tall-backed chair turned and his father's thick, orange eyebrows knit. "What's wrong, son?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to let you know that Marth and I are gonna come back different ways from the market. We decided we wanted to scout a little and see…if Bowser's up to anything."

"He _is_ up to something," said Ganondorf angrily. He sighed suddenly and his forehead wrinkled as he rubbed his scalp with one hand. "Okay. But get more armor on. I don't want any wounds."

"You doubt my strength?" asked Ike playfully. He sobered when he saw Ganondorf wasn't in a teasing mood.

"I doubt your brains," his father returned. It was harsh teasing. Ike didn't mind.

"So do I. I'll get more armor."

"Has Peach's gang bought any more?" asked Ganondorf abruptly as Ike started to leave.

He turned back. "Not that I know of. Marth keeps the records. Why? Are you suspicious?"

"I just don't want her getting out of hand with them. They're powerful if used right. She doesn't know how to use them just right, but…it can be figured out. You have to be smart to figure it out, but you can."

"I'll talk to Marth about it."

"There's a boy."

"Love you, Dad."

"Love you." Ganondorf sighed and his chair turned away.

Ike smiled quietly and exited the room. Then he was running, full speed, for the armory.

"Koro! Where's the food!" he shouted.

"What is your big problem?" growled the surly teen. "Pit told me to make some five minutes ago. And I already gave it to Marth anyway."

"What's up, Ike?" Marth appeared by the entrance to the garage as Ike dashed past him and down the stairs. Marth followed.

"We're late. Some people will be there by the time we arrive and we don't need people getting suspicious at a gathering in front of the station. Get armor on. Dad said."

Marth mumbled something under his breath about overprotection, but followed Ike into the dimly lit armory.

* * *

Link flung the papers onto the ground. They landed with a smack on the thinly carpeted ground and a few fluttered back up in the air to float slowly down again.

"These stupid, stupid…!" He went off on a rant, spewing language Zelda did not understand at all. She glanced at Sheik and then back at their captain, watching as his face grew red with fury.

"If one of you could just go in and kill all four of those gang leaders I'd be the happiest lark of the bunch!" Link finished, kicking the trashcan underneath his desk onto its side.

"Allow me," began Sheik in her low, husky voice.

"No," snapped Link. "You know that's too dangerous. I can't risk it. We'll have to wait until we have better odds."

"If you keep saying that whenever we come up against things that seem too dangerous, we'll never _have_ better odds."

Link glared at her and Zelda tried not to smile. The two were best friends and so exactly the opposite of one another it amused her to no end. Of course if Sheik found out it amused her…her friendship with the blonde would end in that moment. _So might my life_ , she mused.

"Palutena," said Link, turning his head to look up at his secretary. "I want you to write up a graph with the revenue each gang receives. Find out who's the richest. We've got enough data, I think, from what the people give and which gangs operate black markets that we can know that, right?" He didn't wait for her to answer. "Now," he continued, turning back to stare at Sheik, "if you think we should start doing dangerous things, you have to help me think them up. And they better be ingenious. Because without ingenious plans we're going to get creamed by those four!" He slammed his fist down on his desk.

"Sir, that's a glass top," Zelda reminded him. "You'll break it if you're not careful."

Link's eyes smoldered. "All right, heroes. Dismissed. Don't forget the meeting tonight."

Sheik gave a curt nod and turned on her heel in one fluid motion. Zelda gave Link a gentle smile and then followed her friend out.

"I hate it when he calls us heroes," Sheik muttered as the door closed behind them. "We haven't done anything since we started this job."

"And you started before me," Zelda added, pursing her lips. "I get it, though. Link's afraid to lose people. He doesn't trust our fighting abilities," she giggled.

"I haven't seen you fight," returned Sheik coldly. "I don't know how you wouldn't trip in that dress before a battle even started."

"You've seen me train," Zelda retorted hotly. "I'm just as good as you."

"No, you're not. And that's just a fact. It's fine. I'm not in charge of who joins the League of Heroes. I'm just telling you. If Link makes good on his word to start affirmative action against these gangs, which he will, then we'll be in for some deep fighting and you'll need to hone your skills a bit better."

"I've got a secret weapon," Zelda said pompously.

Sheik rolled her eyes. "They always say that."

Zelda grimaced and Sheik pulled her mask up over her nose. "I'm going for a walk."

She turned down a hallway and Zelda continued on, stopping in front of the door to her room.

"Hey, Zel."

Zelda turned. "Hi, Lucina. I thought you were off today."

"I was. But Corrin was saying Link would probably start something against the gangs and I figured it wouldn't be wise to miss out on important information and have to be briefed later. You know Link doesn't like doing things twice."

"Sure doesn't. Nice of you to be so considerate." Zelda winked and Lucina frowned at her.

"Thank you. I like thinking about others' interests above my own, especially in a serious setting like this." Her tone was clipped now. "Where's Falco?"

"Probably the garage," replied Zelda, entering her room. She turned back. "I'm sorry, anyway, Luci. But Link's a nice guy. You shouldn't feel…embarrassed." She closed the door as she saw Lucina's cheeks turn scarlet.

With a sigh of relief she dashed to her closet and yanked out the form-fitting outfit she needed. She began tearing off her dress and then pulled on the dark-blue suit. If she didn't hurry she'd be late, and if she was late she didn't get what she needed: her 'secret weapon'.

She wrapped the strips of cloth around her hands and threw on the white, infinity scarf. The thick cloth rested neatly on her shoulders as she gripped the tight, breathable mask and pulled it up over her nose. She glanced at herself in the mirror and her blue eyes twinkled back at her. She look rather like Sheik now. Almost exactly like her, except her form was more feminine and her eyes were certainly not red.

Without a sound she snatched up her chain, opened the window, and was climbing down the building. She dropped to the pavement and turned her gaze towards the gray, smoky city of Smash.

* * *

"What's the rush?" Fox growled, as the two dashed down one alley and turned up a side street.

"I know he's always there at this time and I need to talk to him," she snapped, gasping for breath and wishing she didn't have a stitch in her side.

"We should've stopped by the hovel first to drop off your armor," he answered, catching up with her as they rounded another corner.

The large duffel bag bumped against her legs with dull thumps as she chose not to answer.

The rainbow shine up ahead made her relax slightly and she sped up, her blonde bangs whipping into her face and across her eyes as she reached the four yards of rainbow road. "Finally," she panted, slowing her pace.

Fox slowed as well, jogging beside her, his gun out in case anyone decided to open fire. That was always a possibility on this road. Up ahead she spotted the cheerful, colored lights that shone out of Koopa's Rainbow Saloon.

"Can you watch my armor?" she asked, slinging off the dark bag and shoving it towards Fox.

He deftly took it, hoisting the strap over his shoulder and putting a paw on her hand. "Samus, be careful. Just 'cuz Koopa's the only neutral building in Smash City doesn't mean people don't get into brawls in there. Alcohol and anger go hand in hand and they both flow like lava in saloons. Just watch it."

"Will do, you big worry wart," she said teasingly as she brushed the bangs from her face. She placed a firm hand on her plasma whip. "I've got it in hand."

Fox gave her a funny look and walked off the road with the bag. Samus bit her lip as he left, turning to face the saloon again. She walked towards it stiffly, her knuckles white around her weapon and her heart pounding. She hadn't been in Koopa's Rainbow Saloon for quite a few months and it made her nervous every time. It was mostly the bad boys who hung out there. Well, that was why Snake was there, wasn't it?

The interior was cheerful and bright compared to the smoky dusk outside and Samus tried to relax a little. Her beady eyes scanned the room for Snake and she spotted him sitting by the bar. He looked relaxed, one hand loosely draped on the counter, the other holding a cigarette to his mouth. But behind the thin screen of white smoke that floated in front of him, Samus saw his cool, green eyes were glittering as they calculated every move. And they had spotted her.

Acknowledging him with a brief nod, she wove her way through the people and tables until she was across from him.

"So I heard from––" she started.

"Sit down, Sam," he responded in his gravelly voice, cutting her off.

She snapped her mouth shut in a tight line and sat with a small thud on the barstool in front of her.

Snake looked at her as he smoothly took the cigarette from between his lips and breathed out a stream of smoke. "Keep your tone low and let's just talk. Yeah, you heard I was wanted."

"By Bowser."

"That's right."

Samus was frustrated by his easy speaking. He should be freaking out right now. Like she was. "So what are you gonna do, stay in Koopa's forever? You can't. And you know Bowser. He won't respect that."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm not afraid of that oversized turtle."

"You have a price on your head. That means he's not the only one you gotta worry about, genius. You'll have everyone in the city lookin' for you soon, the other gang's cronies included. You're dead meat, Snake."

"Listen, Babe. You worry about yourself and I'll worry about me."

"Do you even know how much trouble you're in?"

"You think I'm stupid?" It was the first hint of annoyance in his tone, glazed with bitterness. "I knew exactly what I was getting into as a mercenary. That's why most of 'em don't stick around one place for long. I know what Bowser's capable of and I know I probably won't last another year." He put the cigarette back in his mouth and Samus glanced over her shoulder before turning back to him.

The glinting green eyes looked uncomfortable and worried and her own clouded nervously. "Any way I can help you? If we mercenaries don't stick together, we'll all die."

"Nothin' you can do and nothing I want you to do," he returned. "You stay outta this and away from me." His gazed wandered around the room and then refocused on her. "I'm bein' followed, Sam."

A child ran up her spine and her face grew hot. She didn't take her eyes from his face.

"Look, Babe," he added, his voice abruptly growing gruffer, but a mite tenderer. "Get outta this game before it's too late. You're a smart kid and I wouldn't wanna see you dead. Join a gang. Everyone'll want you. Get that pal of yours, Fox or whatever, to go with you. But as soon as Bowser catches up to me…I don't want you around. And I know that dragon. He'll look for all my mercenary buddies to hire and use as well."

"Why don't you just go and make yourself one of his cronies?" asked Samus desperately.

Snake tossed her a look of pure disdain. "Now you really think I'm a lunatic, don't you? I couldn't even imagine what it's like to be under him. Naw. You can't join Ganon. He's only got his boys. Little Mac's iffy. Get in line with Peach."

Samus glared at him. "Why don't you do that?"

"I couldn't handle it. And no one would take me anyway. I'm a confirmed mercenary and I've been around too much. Not trusted anymore. But you've got an identity guard with that suit of orange…"

"Have you tried?" Samus interrupted. "We could go to Peach together. I'll vouch for you. Or maybe Ganon would adopt you. I'm sure he's always looking for another boy who's as strong as you."

Snake snorted. "He adopts young ones, Sam. So he can train them. So he can use them. I'm too smart and he's definitely smart enough to see that with one glance."

Samus tucked her blonde bangs behind her ears. "Snake," she began again, "You can't just give up."

"I'll run 'til I die. You'll see me around. Don't get your head caught up in this. I've taken care of myself since I was eight and I ain't stoppin' now that I've got a gang lord on my tail."

Samus stood. "I'm not joining a gang. If they wouldn't accept you, they wouldn't accept me. It's dangerous to go offer my services and I've got a good partner in Fox. We've been together for ten years now and we make a good team. I'm safe."

Snake's eyes glittered, but they weren't annoyed or upset that she wasn't taking his advice. He looked a little haggard, tired, and perhaps a bit sad.

"Do what you will, Babe. Don't say I didn't warn you. Now scat. You don't need Bowser on your tail yet anyway."

Samus walked out stiffly. As soon as the door was shut she was booking it down the road and back to Fox, tears flowing from her eyes.

* * *

 **I hope you like it so far. Many more characters to be introduced. In fact...most of them. Please review. TTFN.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another chapter up. :-)**

* * *

"Thank you," said Marth pleasantly, a hint of a glare on his face to make sure the smartly dressed costumer knew he wasn't just a young man doing business. He was a son of Ganondorf.

The man nodded, secured the packet of gems inside his suit coat, and headed for the stairs with a quick glance behind him.

"Why are they always so nervous when they leave?" Marth asked his brother.

Ike, dropping the small, purple, glowing objects into a nylon case, glanced up. "Because if they double-cross us, they die slowly and painfully. Good evening. What do you want?"

Marth glanced over and joined his brother in staring down the woman. She flipped her long, brown braid over her shoulder and her eyes crinkled above her mask. "Same as usual."

"Two 16 ounce cases?" Ike's question was mandatory and she nodded.

"Thank you."

"Marth'll take the cash."

"Good evening," he said coolly as he rested his elbows on the counter. As she counted out the gold coins he deftly wondered whether she was buying for a gang or perhaps using stolen coins. She certainly had a lot of them.

"Where you from?" asked Marth as he slid the gold off the table and into a sack. He tied it deftly, keeping eye contact with her.

She gave stare for stare. "Just outside Smash. You? You're one of Ganon's boys, aren't you?"

Marth gave a dry smirk just to seem cool. In reality, he was nervous she was calling Dad 'Ganon' so lackadaisically, as if his father wasn't a powerful gang lord. As if, being his son didn't mean he was one of the most powerful and well-armed men in Smash City. "Aren't I?"

Her blue eyes twinkled at him. "Thank you, sir." She directed this at Ike, though she didn't look at his burly brother, simply taking the two cases from Marth. "Have a good night."

He wasn't done. "Where'd you get all this cash from?" His voice was calculating.

Her eyebrows rose and she started to answer, but Ike cut her off.

"Shut it, Marth." He looked hard at the woman. "Your business isn't ours and ours isn't yours," he added, laying a heavy, warning hand on Marth's shoulder.

Marth glanced at him and then raised a brow. "We'll be seeing you soon, won't we?"

"Probably," she answered. "Maybe." Then she slipped out.

Marth whirled on Ike. "Tell me later, don't embarrass me in front of our customers!"

"How else were you supposed to stop?" Ike snapped, slamming shut the lid to the two crates that hadn't been emptied by that evening's sales. "You're smart enough to know we don't ask after other people's business."

"Well, I'm suspicious about people who show up in masks."

"You shouldn't be. You should ignore it. We sell to everyone."

"That's not true, bro," Marth retorted, knocking over the table and folding in the legs. "We wouldn't sell to Bowser. How do we know that's not a mercenary anyway that Bowser hired to get gems?"

"Bowser doesn't know about these things," Ike returned calmly, hefting up a box and shoving it to the back of the truck.

"He might soon."

"Then we might have to change our policy about not knowing others' business. But that's not the case right now," he added, slamming the truck's back doors. "Why don't you drive back the long way and I'll go around the east side, towards Koopa's."

"Why don't you wanna drive?" asked Marth, catching the keys Ike tossed at him with a backhand.

"Because I'm better suited to do hand-to-hand combat if necessary and you are better at quick thinking in getting that truck out of sight and out of mind without crashing it into a wall."

Both chuckled remembering the last time Ike had been driving the truck and they ran into trouble with some of Little Mac's cronies. They'd fought them off, but the truck had been unsalvageable.

"Don't wanna make Falcon angry again, huh?" Marth teased, climbing into the truck and closing the door. "See you at home."

Ike patted his mini gun and hefted his large, sword-like weapon in his hand as Marth drove out of the warehouse. He followed, leaping up to catch hold of the thick strap that attached to the garage door, and jerking it down. The rattle of the door as it slid to the ground on its tracks matched the louder rumble of the train as it pulled into the station above. Ike smiled. They'd closed on time. And now to see about Bowser…

-ooo-

Reflet flinched as Little Mac kicked the young boy. He rolled over on the ground with a muffled cry.

"And don't let me _ever_ catch you in there again!" he thundered. He advanced towards the cowering child with a stomp and Reflet pressed her lips together and squinted her eyes. It was such bad luck she hated violence like this. Especially when it was unjust.

Without a sound Lucas stepped in front of Mac. The black eyes met the furious ones of the gang leader, who didn't need any urging to send him rolling on top of his friend with a backhanded smack to the face. Lucas' nose was bleeding.

Little Mac bent down, scooped both up by their shirt collars, and banged their heads together before dropping them back on the floor. "I want no trouble, or you'll find more than you bargained for!"

 _They didn't bargain for anything, you big bully. Lyn and Robin picked them up on the street and brought them here and you decided to train them up as more people you can use to get what you want. You're crazy! You don't even know how much trouble I am, but you wait and see. Someday you'll pay for…_

"Reflet. Come." She meekly and silently followed her brother out of the room, Little Mac ahead of them and Ryu and Lyn taking up the rear. They left the crying children alone.

"I'b sorry, Villager," moaned Lucas, wiping his nose with the back of his hand and holding the side of his head with the other.

"You didn't do anything," the other boy said quietly. "I shouldn't've come in here. But I wanted to try and call the orphanage and see if they'd decided to keep us again." Large tears rolled down his cheeks and the two boys clasped each other, scooting over to cower by the wall as the lights turned off, leaving the room dimly illuminated by the emergency bulbs.

"Lucas," whimpered Villager after a long pause of silence. "Tell me 'bout your mother again. I like her." He shut his eyes and listened quietly as Lucas, with a solemn air, began the age-old description.

"She had golden hair like the sun and her eyes were big and she always smiled big, too. It made her eyes smaller, but it also made them bright and everyone was happy. She said she gave me her small nose, but she actually still had one. Mother was short and thin and she would walk like a queen on clouds. She loved flowers and she planted them on the tippiest top of the building we were in. She said she always had a good attitude about sad things and that there was always something to be glad about. She said it was called 'counting our blessings'. She said I was her blessing." Lucas stopped.

"And then what happened?" prompted Villager, opening his eyes to stare worriedly across the room at the closed door. Lucas always stopped here and he wouldn't continue unless Villager asked him to.

"Well, people came and told me she wanted me to live with them and that she was up in the sky somewhere and couldn't be with me anymore. So I went with them and lived in the orphanage."

"And you met the black-haired boy," murmured Villager.

"Yes. I met the black-haired boy with black eyes who said his name was Ness. He was very brave and his eyes shined a little bit like mother's eyes did whenever he would smile. Except his smile wasn't the same. It was a half smile. And then he did the bravest thing ever and saved a very hungry, hungry dog. And when the people saw that he gave the dog his food they said he had to get out. And he told me he would be the strongest person one day and come and help me find my father, who isn't up in the sky yet."

Villager sighed happily. "When do you think he'll do that?"

"Oh, soon, prob'ly," answered Lucas, staring up at the ceiling. "He's prob'ly pretty strong now. Maybe he's a hero."

-ooo-

"Down, Duck," hissed the black-haired boy. "Get back here."

The orange dog turned back and sat by his side as Ness peered around the corner. His stomach growled silently and he licked his dry lips. If the man didn't have food, he'd be very much surprised. Yes, he looked heavily armed, but Duck could take out his right arm, getting rid of the threat of the sword, and Ness could have his metal yo-yo and chain around his neck pretty fast. From there, all he had to do was hit him over the head with the bat.

His eyes trained on the man as he stopped near the rainbow road, Ness placed his bat in its sheath of sorts, took out his yo-yo and readied it, and then snapped his fingers at Duck, who leapt up, his tail stiff, his nose testing the air, and his eyes practically drilling holes in the back of the burly man's armor.

"Follow."

Ness started forward, eyes bright and a small grimace that might have been a grin any other time on his face. Duck was at his heels. The man hadn't turned and Ness was close enough now to see that he had a gun in his belt and deep blue, almost purple, colored hair. It was a gang member, he was certain.

The man suddenly whirled, his sword swinging out in a wide arc. Ness dropped to his knees and the blade went over his head.

"Arm!" he shouted.

Duck was a blur of orange that leapt toward the sword arm recovering from the ferocious swing. Ness didn't wait a moment longer, hurling the yo-yo expertly at the man's neck. The chain wrapped around his throat and Ness jerked him towards himself, reaching for the bat as he did so.

"You chucklehead," growled the man with a strained voice. Ness watched his sword clatter to the ground and a moment later he had dropped to the ground with a crash.

It gave the orphan a sense of power to be staring down into the eyes of probably one of the strongest men he'd ever seen. He grinned. "Good bye," he said as he raised his bat.

Without another word the man had leapt to his feet, jerking the chain from Ness' relaxed grasp. His body struck the bat as he jumped and it dropped to the ground with a crack on the asphalt.

Something struck Ness' head and he saw stars as he went spinning away, falling flat on his face on the ground. His chin struck the road and a cry escaped his mouth. Duck's growl of fury was cut short by a sharp bark of pain and a dull thud as he was somehow flung off and hit the pavement.

"So, boy," said the man from somewhere above him. "What would your parents say about your behavior just now?"

Ness blinked rapidly, trying to keep the tears back and trying to refocus his vision. A small piece of loose gravel grew from a blur into an intelligible object. "Nothin'," he whispered. "They couldn't. They're dead."

Silence. The blinking couldn't stop the tears now and he sat up slowly, wiping his stinging eyes, sniffing hastily. He looked over at Duck. The dog was getting to his feet and limping towards him, his teeth bared at his master's attacker.

"You know who I am?"

"No."

Ness felt a hand grab his arm and another his hand. He was helped to his feet and he stared up at the man.

"Ike."

"Ness."

"I'm a son of Ganondorf."

Ness' face paled. "Oh." His voice was a squeak.

Ike abruptly smiled, but it was a small, hesitant smile and his eyes were stern and dangerous. "Why don't you come with me."

Ness stepped back. Ike didn't move to chase him and the boy relaxed slightly. "W-why?" he quavered.

"Where else do you live?"

"L-live?" Ness' voice was blank and unbelieving. "I live everywhere. But-but…"

"Which gang were you a part of before?"

"Before when?" Ness was thoroughly confused.

Ike's brow furrowed. "Why would you attack me for no reason?"

"I…" The boy's face turned red. "I wanted your food." His voice sank to a mournful, embarrassed whisper.

More silence.

"Can I just go now?" Ness queried, meeting Ike's hard gaze.

"Why don't you come with me? I'll get you food and water."

"B-but what are you going to do…?"

"Well, I'm going to feed you," Ike stated bluntly, his tone sightly irritated. "And then I'm going to introduce you to Ganondorf and maybe he'll want to adopt you. The brotherhood isn't an easy thing to be a part of, but it beats being on the streets. I know, because I've done both. So come on."

Ness stared. He looked down at Duck, who was sitting at his feet, his eyes glazed with pain.

"You hurt Duck."

"I'll carry him and Koro'll take care of it."

Without another word Ike had scooped up the animal in his big arms. One hand shut the dog's mouth and he cocked his head at Ness. "It's a few blocks. Let's go."

Ness followed without another word. Become part of Ganondorf's sons? The brotherhood? Well, if there was any way to keep his promise to Lucas, this was it. His eyes abruptly shone with hopefulness as he hurried to keep up with Ike's long strides.

* * *

 **Well, I thought it was sweet anyway. #ike4ever ^_^**


	3. Chapter 3

"Of course, you handsome fur-ball. Do what you want." She beamed at him, her baby-blue's sparking.

"Leave it to me," Sonic responded with a smirk. He was gone in the blink of an eye and Peach's fake smile disappeared just as fast.

"Ugh!" she groaned loudly, slamming the door shut and stomping over to her king-sized bed. She threw herself backwards onto the mattress, face to the ceiling, and glared. "I hate, hate, hate having someone like him. He's so annoying! Why does he, the most irksome of them all, have to be the one I cater to?"

"If you didn't need him, you wouldn't have to act so coy and nice," her brunette sister commented, stroking the yellow star in her lap.

"But I _do_ need him, Daisy!" she snapped. "That's the whole point!" Her voice rose to a scream.

"Peach!" her sister remonstrated, hugging the star close to her chest. "You're scaring Luma."

"Well, too bad for Luma!" Peach retorted. "You shouldn't have kept him!"

"Little Mac was going to kill him!"

"So maybe that little pumpkin-head would be happier dead with Rosalina instead of living here with a cranky, blond lady."

Daisy cradled the star in her arms and gave Peach a reproving look. "Settle down."

"I. Will. Not," Peach grunted, heaving up a vase on the nightstand and hurling it to the ground. It broke with a shatter.

Daisy pursed her lips and covered where she thought Luma's ears might be as her sister flew into a rage, her face red and her eyes dilated. Lamps, books, decorations and pillows were thrown about the room until finally there was nothing left for Peach to knock over that wasn't too heavy. She bent over, her hands on her knees, panting from the exertion, her scarlet cheeks slowly fading back to their normal color.

The knock on the door made both women look up.

Peach looked around her wreck-of-a room and then over at Daisy. "Come in," she called.

The tall, icy-eyed blonde entered. He didn't bat an eyelash at the mess and didn't even seem to notice it.

"Peach, Ganondorf's opening the market tomorrow evening again and I can get a couple packages of the jewels for Chomp if you give me three hundred."

"Three hundred!" Peach exclaimed. She calmed herself with a deep breath and their blue eyes locked. "Chain Chomp destroyed the back wing of the garage the other day and ruined two cars and some weapons as well, all because I ran out. I want you to buy as many as you can without Ganon getting suspicious, okay? Twenty or more packs. I have to stay in control of Chomp."

"That's more coins."

"Take them," she responded evenly. "Take Donkey and Diddy with you, too."

"Not Luigi?" questioned Daisy.

Peach ignored her. "Take what you need, leave when you need."

Cloud turned with a sharp about-face and left the room.

Peach fell backwards onto the bed. "Ugh."

* * *

"Roy!" Ike groaned loudly, entering the large kitchen/dining room and letting the door slam shut behind him. "That smells like armpit!"

Pit, struggling with a book Ganondorf was making him read, looked up for the billionth time. The book slammed shut as he fell back in his chair with a high-pitched squeal of laughter.

The red-head, stirring a pot of noodles, looked over at his older brother with feigned annoyance. "Oh, lay off. You eat half of every pile of food I make and you can't cook…anything."

Ike smirked at him. "Touché." He glanced over at Pit. "What the…! Are you still on that book? It's been two months and it's only fifty pages long."

"I can't focus," the boy complained, dragging his fingers through his ragged mop of dark-brown hair. "I mean, this isn't even that interesting."

"I read it in an hour," remarked Marth, entering with Koro.

"You also don't have mental problems," Koro added sourly.

"What is wrong with you today?" Roy asked, plunking down the pot in the middle of the table. "You're a major grouch like no other."

"Who took my tool belt?" bellowed Falcon, stomping into the room from the garage. He was covered in soot.

"Get out," said Pit. "You're gonna get that stuff on our food."

"Get out yourself! Where is my belt? Roy?"

"Oh. That belt?"

Falcon raced at him and Roy leapt over the table, rolling onto two place settings, and landed on the floor with a grunt and a grin. Falcon jumped after him in a handspring.

"And 'round and 'round they go," muttered Ike.

"Who is that?" Megaman was staring just behind his older brother, his helmet in his hand. The boy's tone was of such complete shock and incredulity that Roy and Falcon, who had each other in choke holds, looked over. Pit glanced up from his book for the billionth-and-first time and Koro and Marth's jaws dropped. Ike looked over his shoulder as well, even though he knew what he'd see.

Ness stood there alone, his hands twisting around each other, his face red. Duck was not there, resting with water and food in the corner of the garage in a kennel, and Ness felt absolutely defenseless in the face of this silence. He certainly wasn't good at conversation starters. Not at a time like this.

"So where's my belt?" Falcon asked Roy in a low voice out of the corner of his mouth.

"On your bed," Roy replied out of the corner of his own mouth.

"Ike?" asked Marth.

"What?"

"You are the worst actor in the history of ever," Koro complained. "Why'd you bring home a punk kid?"

"Now wait a minute," said Ike, holding up his hands and letting his blue eyes twinkle at Koro, no matter how much he felt like punching him in the nose. "I would watch how you talk about punk kids, because you used to be one yourself not too long ago."

"Two years!" Koro defended himself. "Dad isn't…"

"Shut it," Marth snapped.

"Yahoo!" Pit cheered, tossing the book over his shoulder. "What's your name, bro?"

"He's not a brother yet," Megaman cautioned, his eyes narrowing.

"I am going to lose my ever-loving mind!" came the thundering roar of their father's deep voice.

The boys were sitting in their seats in five seconds flat. Ness followed suit, sitting on an extra chair just beside Ike, his face hot and his stomach churning.

Two double doors near the head of the table swung open and Ganondorf entered the room. "Boys," he said, his voice ominously low.

"Yes, sir," came the reply in as deep a voice as every son could muster.

"I want you to tell me why there is a dog in the corner of the garage. And I want Pit to start."

Pit turned pink. "Wha—! I don't know!" he protested, throwing up his hands.

Ganon paused and blinked. "Did you finish that book yet?"

Pit turned red. "I'm almost done."

"Like how almost done?"

"Maybe forty five pages left…?" squeaked Pit.

Ganondorf stared. "You've read five pages in two months? That's less than a paragraph a day."

"I would agree with that statement," Pit nodded, looking extremely ashamed of himself.

"Marth, why don't you help your brother with his reading at all?"

"He never asks," the bluenette muttered.

"Okay, well that's insane." Ganondorf sat down in his chair. "But seriously. Where'd the pooch come from?"

Everyone looked slowly at Ike. Ike looked back at his father with a deadpan look and innocent eyes. Then he leaned back a little.

Ness turned scarlet.

Ganondorf's yellow eyes lit up slowly and a moment later the largest smile had spread across his face and he stood in a moment, walking around to stand behind Ness' chair. The boy stared up into his eyes and the golden ones sparkled back.

"Well, hello my boy. What's your name?"

"Ness," was the whispered answer.

"Ness. You're a strong-looking young fellow. Is that your dog back there?"

"Yes."

"What's his name?"

"Duck Hunt the First, sir."

Ganondorf's laugh was a rumbling chuckle. "Not sir. Call me 'dad'. Duck Hunt, eh? He hunt ducks or something?"

"No. He looks like a duck, and I wish he could hunt, and he's my first dog."

"Ah." Ganondorf's smile grew, his eyes crinkling at the corners. "Where are your parents?"

"Dead. Been like that for a while."

"Why aren't you in an orphanage?"

"Kicked me out for feeding Duck," Ness mumbled. He turned his gaze from Ganondorf's kind one to Ike. One of the man's thick eyebrows rose once and then returned to it's normal position, a slight frown.

"Do you want to be my son?" Ganondorf's voice broke through his confused turmoil and he looked back to meet the earnest look. The boy's small black eyes blinked.

"Y-yes."

"You don't have to."

"Y-you…you're nice, though."

Ganondorf threw back his head and roared with laughter. Pit laughed, too. The other brothers simply smiled.

Ike's small grin grew as his bear-of-a-papa wrapped his great big arms around the boy and gave him a warm hug. It was the hug he had given to all his sons. It was the hug Ike had fallen in love with. He hadn't felt that hug in a long time, due to stress and general busyness, as well as a desire to prove to his father he was so much more than the wimpy scamp Ganondorf had rescued so many years ago. But it made him warm all over to see Ness enfolded in such love.

"Yahoo!" Pit crowed. "Now we have eight again!"

Ike's eyes grew wild and he shot Pit a panicked, deadly look. The winged boy got the message and settled back down in his seat above which he had been hovering. Both watched their father's eyes as he released his new son, but Ike noted with relief that the usual smoldering look that showed when Chrom was brought up or alluded to was gone. Grief couldn't put down the joy.

He exchanged a relieved look with Marth and Falcon.

* * *

"You're worried, Ike?" Roy asked. Falcon, Marth, Roy, and Ike walked down the hall towards the room the younger brothers were already sleeping in. It was midnight and they had finished their meeting with Ganondorf.

"That Ness kid'll fit in fine," Falcon began to assure him.

"It's Dad I'm worried about," Ike replied.

They stopped outside the door.

"He's got a lot on his plate and he's stressed out because of Bowser. He's got a number of meetings tomorrow with different people in this yard and two men who are creeping over from Mac's yard. He's got another son to worry about when he hasn't even recovered from the loss of Chrom. Which happened a year and a half ago!"

"Settle yourself," Marth said gently. "Dad's been doing this gang stuff for longer than any of us have."

"Which is why he probably needs a break," Roy pointed out with a snort.

"Do you guys have any idea what it means when he's worried about Bowser?" Falcon broke in, his voice lower than before. "He knows that overgrown turtle's got something up his sleeve and he's nervous about what the ramifications are for us."

Ike nodded. "I'm worried about what that means for _him_. The worst Bowser would ever do to us would be force us to work for him or lock us up. The worst he'd do to Dad-" He couldn't finish.

"Let's not talk about that," Marth ordered. "We take one day at a time."

"If something's imminent, we better talk about it or we sure as…won't!" Roy retorted.

"Shush!" Falcon snapped. "You'll wake up the kids."

"I'm not a kid."

Koro opened the door.

The four brothers turned, exchanged glances with one another and Ike finally said, "Yeah? then keep your mouth shut. Just sleep on worries, but…work extra hard during training tomorrow. And in the future. We're gonna need it, I can tell."

Dull nods were the response, and Falcon gave him a goodnatured punch in the arm as they walked past him into the large, dark bedroom. Ike was last, shutting the door.

* * *

"Really? And you expect me to be pleased? You think I'll just let you go for this?"

One of his sharp talons pricked the pale woman underneath the chin. Her gray eyes stared straight into the gaping, toothed mouth. She swallowed.

With a quick movement his forefinger shoved her backwards. She fell to the ground and leapt up immediately, her hands shaking.

"Listen, Wii. I want that mercenary. You couldn't capture her by force?" He spat and his lava-like saliva hit the ground by her feet. She turned her face away quickly, her eyes meeting the red ones of the gray-haired woman behind her. They flicked to the glowing red's of the shadowy man and then back to Bowser.

"She'll have to be hired."

"She won't do it. The armored girl is smart." Mario's voice was stiff and even, but his blue eyes flicked nervously away from his leader's deadly gaze.

"She'll do it. She needs money. All mercenaries do."

"The fox has been her partner for a couple years," said WiiFit quietly. "He's cunning."

"The fox will have to be gotten rid of, won't he?" Bowser growled. His eyes glinted and he looked over at the fat penguin squatting in the corner. "Dedede, find out where she is and then come tell me."

He turned back to his others. "We'll get her and she'll die or she'll become one of mine." He turned with a heavy tread and exited the room. Silence reigned behind him.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Father!" she screamed._

 _The howling wind wasn't the answer she sought._

 _"Father!" It blew away in a gust and smoke whirled around her small, thin body._

 _"Sheik." Her mother grabbed her feet and clung to her ankles, her body shaking with sobs. "Sheik, I'm going to die without him," she croaked mournfully as her face contorted with grief._

 _The blonde girl bent and wrapped her arms around as much of her mother as she could. "Sh, sh, sh. No, Mom. You have me."_

 _Her mother continued to cry and the child knew that 'me' wasn't enough. She'd have to be more than simply herself now. She'd have to be more than a daughter._

* * *

Sheik's head jerked up. "What is it?" she snapped at her closed door.

"Open up," replied Zelda's muffled voice.

With a grunt she slipped off the bed, glancing at the mirror to make sure she looked calm and unflustered. She finally unlocked the door.

"Hello!" Zelda's smiling face and twinkling blue eyes made her glare. "I just wanted to ask if you would want to come with Lucina and I?"

"I don't eat out for lunch."

"Not lunch. The mission Link sent us on."

The red eyes widened in shock. "What? I didn't hear about this."

"I don't think he wanted to worry you."

The blonde tried to control her astonishment and excitement. "I can't go unless he knows I'm going."

"I told him I would ask you."

"But he didn't want to worry me?"

"He didn't want to personally worry you," Zelda smirked. "He didn't mind if _I_ did."

"Yes. And I'm sure he'd be pleased to know you just told me that."

Zelda's smiled disappeared. "Sorry. He didn't say that, anyway."

"Why a mission? Why now? Do we have enough information for that? What the…Er, what's the mission?"

Sheik followed Zelda down the hall. The brunette walked smoothly ahead, her dress barely rippling as her feet padded silently on the rugged floors. And she explained.

"The hands in the government are putting pressure on him. From Palutena, they basically said, 'You call yourself a hero, but if you don't start getting on those gangs, we're gonna hire someone else.'"

"That's unfair. No one else would do a better job."

Zelda smiled at Sheik's defense of her friend. "Ah, but they don't know that. Anyway, the serious action Link has decided to start is going to involve the black markets."

"Who knows how many there are."

"Hand-to-hand doesn't count. There's a few major places they meet and we gotta find out…where they are."

"That'll be hard. And dangerous."

"Yes. But we should be okay. We find the black markets and destroy them, which causes chaos and a loss of money for whichever of the gang lords. We can make a move during a time like that. If we gain control of just one yard, we'll be in pretty good shape."

"We're a young organization," muttered Lucina, joining them in the lobby. She held her sparkling weapon and a laser pistol was strapped to her belt, as well as a knife. "I don't know why there's so much pressure already."

"You're new," Sheik retorted. "But the government didn't start The League of Heroes just to sit around and plan. They started us for the immediate action they were desperate for. I'm just glad we're doing something."

"You think Link was doing a bad job before?" Lucina accused. It was a loaded question and all of them knew it.

"I don't think it was a question of Link's actions, I think it's a question of the necessity now and I'm glad the necessity is now rather than later," Sheik said. "Not for the overall good, but for personal reasons."

"You put personal reasons above the overall good?"

Zelda opened her mouth to stop the pending argument. Lucina's blue eyes shot daggers at her and she heaved a sigh and shut her lips.

Sheik only gave a dry grimace as she pulled up her mask. "Someone's sure in a bad mood today. No, I don't put my reasons above…Link's reasons or 'logical' reasons. I'm surprised you hadn't figured that out already."

"You guys are hilarious," broke in Zelda earnestly. "Let's hurry. I've got the car."

"I've got the bike."

Lucina pursed her lips. "So I'll ride shotgun with you, Zel."

"Done deal. Let's move."

"Where're your weapons?" Lucina asked as she slid into the passenger seat.

Zelda typed in the password before glancing at her friend. "I have it in hand. A knife. Other stuff."

"What 'other stuff'?" Lucina asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I call it magic," returned Zelda. "But it's just…all in knowing how to harness some things and use other things. Gotta know…stuff." She had turned a bright pink and a moment later they shot from the garage, Sheik's motorcycle roaring after them.

* * *

"You're awfully quiet," Ike noted in a low voice as he glanced over at Marth in the passenger seat of the truck.

"Thank you," his brother returned evenly.

"Are you thinking about…back then?" Saying 'back then' was an ambiguous term that either meant 'the death of Chrom' or 'your life before Ganondorf'.

"I…No," Marth replied. He swiveled in his seat to face Ike, who glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, but then returned his gaze to the road. Something about the look on Marth's face told Ike he wasn't going to want to have to look at his brother while he spoke.

"I was thinking about the League of Heroes."

Ike could not have been more surprised, and he could not have controlled his surprise better. He didn't bat an eyelash.

Koro, in the back seat, said nothing, but leaned forward a little.

"What about them?" asked Ike, breaking the pause with a nonchalance in his tone that wasn't fitting for the mood descending on the car.

"Well, I…You know, it sort of seems almost unfair for us to be…oppressing the people who live in Ganondorf's yard."

Ike stared straight ahead, a crease in his brow. "Uh…We don't oppress them."

"We charge them money to barely protect them from a threat that rarely happens!"

"Oh? You think they'd enjoy Bowser's rule better than ours?"

"No. I was thinking about the League of Heroes. If we let them take over here."

Ike's eyes flashed. "Do you even know what would happen to us? What would happen to Dad?"

"So sadness for a few and the majority is happy and thrives," Marth returned.

Ike was rather annoyed his 'Dad' remark had not succeeded in bringing Marth to submission. What was wrong with his brother?

"So why are you putting the majority ahead of the minority? What makes it okay to have the minority suffer so the majority's happy? That's not fair, is it? It's wrong to oppress the majority, but the minority can be oppressed, or killed, and that's not wrong?"

There was silence for a little bit. Marth seemed to be collecting his bearings, but Ike hoped he would take a while. He was trying not to think and Marth's questions made him do so.

"But…but it's wrong, Ike; wrong to take advantage of the majority because they're weaker than us. The only reason we're where we are is because we're stronger than they are. It's a might-makes-right society and it's not right and it leads to so much suffering and terror and death!" His face was red now.

"When did you become Mr. Moral Preacher?" Ike growled. "What's wrong with might makes right?"

"So Falcon's stronger than everyone and he kills Pit. Just because he's stronger doesn't make it right. Might doesn't make right and you know it. You think if Falcon was stronger, it would make it okay?"

"No," Ike acceded somewhat hesitantly. He felt like he was being cornered. "But I couldn't do anything about it anyway, because Falcon would be stronger than me."

"But in this case, we _can_ do something about it," returned Marth, giving Ike an earnest look.

Ike turned away quickly, back to the road. "I won't. Dad has given everything for me. The League of Heroes hasn't. I know Dad. I don't know those people. I know my brothers. I'm not sacrificing my family and my very own father for the greater good, so-sad for the majority! You think they wouldn't instantly make Ganon an example and then kill him? You think they wouldn't put Pit in a juvenile correction place where he'll get lynched? You think they wouldn't take Mega's suit so he's just a disabled kid who can't do anything? You think they wouldn't torture Roy to tell secrets about the other gangs so they can 'help the majority'? No thanks!"

A longer pause followed Ike's tirade and he tried to get control of himself. He knew Marth had always been sensitive to the moral side of things because of how he'd been raised. He mentioned his mother often when quoting why something was right or wrong. He was hesitant to do things that involved injuring others, no matter how lightly.

"Well, maybe that won't happen," Marth started.

Ike's hands clenched the steering wheel. He couldn't believe his brother was trying to continue the conversation. He glanced up quickly to look at Koro in the back. The teen's eyes were glinting and Ike knew he was listening intently.

"It's not like the League has a whole bunch of people. They're a small group so far. They're new. They'd probably love to have a bunch of guys on their team. To get their hands on Dad's gems. With that kind of power they could do a lot to help others."

"Or kill us. As soon as they got Dad's gems they'd take them away. Mega would probably die. Pit and Koro would have a pair of useless wings. And they'd kill us. The League isn't dumb, Marth!" he snapped. "They'd imprison or execute us, not hire us to work for them. Don't be ridiculously sentimental. I know you're not stupid. That's implausible, impossible and not happening. Too bad. I do _not_ want to have this conversation anymore, so you better—"

"You think Ness likes Dad?" broke in Koro.

Ike tossed him the most grateful look he could manage at the moment through the rearview and Marth replied, "I think Ness is a cute kid. He's got some great determination and he'll be a great brother. He's smart. Duck's cute, too. Pit was excited to have a pet."

"Mega said he was allergic," said Ike.

"Mega wishes he was because he wants people to feel bad for him," Koro replied sullenly.

"Liar! Mega wants people to think he's awesome," Marth defended his brother. "The poor boy wanted us to know that he wasn't sneezing because he was a sick weakling, but because he had allergies. Koro, you gotta be nicer to your brothers. I know they're pretty annoying sometimes—"

"All the time. And you're not excluded, pretty boy."

"Tell me that while we're in training," Marth growled. "Except you wouldn't, 'cause you're a coward at heart."

"Shut it both of you," Ike snapped. "We're here. Honestly, can I not leave you two alone together? There'll be a lot of business, since we're at the main market tonight. Keep a lookout for suspicious activities in case Bowser's catching on. We want to know, not get caught from behind by that fat turtle king. Understood?"

Marth nodded shortly and Koro shrugged as they both got out of the car. "See you later," Ike said, leaning out the window to type in the garage-door password. As the door rattled upward Ike nodded in satisfaction at the two stacks of crates. "You have plenty to get you through the night."

"Bye, Ike," said Marth politely. As Koro wandered into the large space to turn on the lights, Marth walked around to the driver's window and looked Ike in the eye.

"Don't listen to my blabbing, Ike. I was just telling you what I was thinking out loud. I know it wouldn't be good to give up…"

Ike gave a grudging smile. "I just don't want you to think you'll have a better life or something in the League. Besides that they wouldn't let you join because of who you are – a son of Ganondorf – they wouldn't love you like your family does." He gave him a gentle punch in the chest and Marth slapped his hand away good-naturedly.

"See ya."

"All right."

Ike put the car in reverse and backed out and away.

Marth closed the garage door and walked over to Koro in the illuminated building. "Let's get the tables set up. You got your gun?"

"Yeah, duh."

"Your gems?"

"Yes. Stop being a worry wart."

"I wouldn't have to worry if you wouldn't forget," Marth returned, grinning slightly.

Koro rolled his eyes, but a smile had found its way to his face and the two boys started playing songs off Marth's phone as they set up for that evening's sales.

* * *

"Hurry it up," Donkey hooted softly to his son.

Diddy, with a leap and a bound, reinstated himself in his father's favor and the three entered the elevator at the same time. As it descended Cloud gave both animals a chilly stare. "Let me talk."

Two nods. Diddy reached out to touch the buttons. Donkey slapped his hand away. Cloud's fingers tightened over his gun and his shoulders shifted, feeling the weight of his sword on his back.

The doors slid open as the elevator gave a dull buzz and the three entered the large room. There were a few people making purchases at the moment. They left hastily. No one stayed around for long in a market like this, but at Ganondorf's market, many came throughout the night.

He brought out his sword with an ominous grinding of metal against sheath. The last costumer left without a word. Cloud's gaze locked with the blue-haired man who stood behind the table, but the blonde followed his gaze as it moved to the left. The sign clearly said, "Weapons to remain away at all times."

Cloud had forgotten. He silently replaced his sword, a glimmer of anger flickering in the cool eyes as a small touch of pink colored his cheeks. Hopefully it would be read as anger. He stepped up to the table.

"Hello, Cloud," said the man coolly. "And how are you today? Donkey. Diddy." The animals grunted in reply. Cloud was tempted to do the same.

"I…forgot your name," he said in a dead-even voice.

"Marth."

"Marth. We're fine." His gaze glanced over at the dark-haired, winged boy who stood just behind his brother. The red eyes were bright and the eyebrows knit. He looked back at Marth.

"The usual?" Marth asked. "And what's your excuse for her this time?"

"That's not an acceptable question. I was not asked that last time I came." Cloud kept his voice tight and clipped. He wanted to punch the small nose into the face with all his might.

"We ask what we want, and sell to whom we choose." Marth picked up his pen. "How many?" He let his pen slide down the page on his clipboard and then looked up to meet Cloud's gaze again. "Fifteen?"

The icy eyes shifted over to linger on the crates behind the two gang members. Each crate probably held at least a hundred or more gems.

"How much would all those crates be? Just buy you out with what you got?"

Marth's eyes widened slightly and his voice was stiff and rock-hard as he said evenly, "Too much."

Cloud removed his nylon bag and laid it on the table. He nodded at Marth, who folded his arms instead. Cloud's eyes flicked over to the other boy. The red eyes got the hint and, though they seemed stubborn, they also said they were ready to obey him. The winged boy opened the bag.

The blonde crony might have smiled at the amazement on their faces, but he saw Marth quickly turn sour.

"You think we're desperate for money, or stupid?" he snapped angrily, slamming his gloved hand down on the table. His fingers clenched into a fist. "Forget it. Fifteen's the max you're getting. Take it or leave it. That's fifty."

Cloud was going to strangle him if he stayed there any longer. He'd just failed right then, and he was livid. The stony face showed no expression as he took the sack of gems. Donkey grabbed up a bunch of coins and gave them to Marth, who counted them meticulously.

"That's forty eight."

Cloud clenched his teeth.

Donkey picked out two more coins and hurled them with sudden ferocity past Marth's face.

Marth grabbed for his weapon.

"You have ten seconds to get yourselves packing," he said in a low voice.

Cloud turned on his heel and marched out, Donkey and Diddy behind him. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, humiliation for humiliation. He'd get back at that Marth for this.

"What is your problem?" Koro burst out as the door slammed shut.

Marth barely heard him. His head was filled with whirling questions that didn't have any answers.

"Marth!" Koro repeated, smacking his arm.

Marth turned, his blue eyes sparking. "What?"

"Why'd you do that? You just made us a serious enemy!"

"Enemy, my eye," Marth muttered, bending down to pick up a crate.

Koro's face was hot and he audaciously grabbed Marth's shoulder, jerking him upward and spinning him around to face him. "Marth, you had no good reason for refusing him his request! We're up to our eyeballs in gems and Dad would have been beyond pleased to have that much gold! Did you see all of it?"

His older brother's face had lost its almost panicked, calculating look and his eyebrows were knit into a hot glare. "I think your real problem is I offended the man you think is the coolest gang member since ever!"

The teen clenched his hands into fists by his sides. "That is _not_ why!" It might have been, a little, but that certainly couldn't have been the whole reason. Koro was sure that wasn't the whole reason, and he was prepared to show Marth why that was so.

"We've never had any problems with Peach using those gems before! You made an enemy we didn't need and gave up so much money!"

"I wasn't about to give a rival gang that much power! You know what those gems can do, Koro. Dude, you fly with those things!"

"We have so many gems, Marth. We can spare two crates and it wouldn't make a dent in our collection!"

"It's not a collection, dummy. And I don't care about that. It makes a dent for Peach and the gems are powerful in a large amount like that!"

"You have no good reason to refuse giving her those gems. She's like the leader of the weakest clan."

"That's not true. She and Little Mac are just about even."

"That's beside the point!" Koro yelled.

"No it's not! Besides, you know we have no control over those gems after they leave this place. Who knows whether she would sell them to Bowser for more than she bought them from us for. She could destroy us with that many gems."

"Well, in that case, genius, how do we know everyone who's been buying from us isn't giving it to Bowser? We've sold to her before, haven't we? That's just a statement you made up just now with no basis!"

"If other people had been selling gems to Bowser, we'd have heard about it," Marth hissed. "We're not stupid. Cloud's not a big threat, whatever you say. He's just a crony of Peach who does what she says. Now shut your trap and let's get these crates ready for when Ike…"

There was the screech of tires outside and a minute later Ike and Falcon entered through the door.

"Decent night?" asked Ike simply, grabbing up a crate.

"You're both red in the face," commented Falcon, who had an uncanny way of noticing everything.

"Just because you have fake eyes doesn't mean you should use them to embarrass us," snapped Koro. It was a bad attempt at cruelty, because Falcon had always been slightly self-conscious about his lack of eyes.

Marth and Ike both gave Koro a hard, confused look and Falcon just gave a grin and a snort and hefted up another crate. "Marth, bro, what happened?"

"I'll tell you later."

"Marth was stupid, is what happened," growled Koro, who knew that 'later' would bring a canted story of the evening's events.

* * *

"Diddy, why don't you come with me?" Donkey suggested. "I don't really want you out alone at night."

"I can take care of myself, Dad," responded Diddy hastily, grabbing out his tiny guns and hopping off down an alley.

"He'll have to learn to survive alone eventually," said Cloud.

"He hasn't shown himself to be that good at it yet," returned Donkey, abruptly jolting forward to gallop down a street.

Cloud, gems in pocket, fumed as he headed up the side of the four yards of rainbow road that showed where Peach's land ended and Bowser's began.

Diddy glanced over his shoulder to make sure his father was not watching and then gave a quiet hoot of delight.

It did not take long for the little monkey to reach the four yards. He glanced over his shoulder again and then, with a leap and a bound, he was in Little Mac's territory.

He always felt frightened talking to his father about Wolf, in case Donkey got angry. After all, he was sure a father wanted his son to look up to him, not a different animal who was of no relation _and_ from a different gang.

* * *

Diddy is going into Mac's territory to look for Wolf and ends up coming across Fox, who he finds out is a relation of him. They are attacked by Ryu and Meta Knight and they escape with their lives with the help of Snake, but Snake is killed by Ryu. Fox tells Samus, who is furious with him and threatens to break off their partnership if he makes a stupid mistake like that again, no matter his relationship with Wolf.

* * *

 **I'm discontinuing the story. I'm sorry, but just have no time! XP So I'll be posting the rest of the outline I wrote for it, just so no one's left in the lurch...**

 **Thank you to everyone who read, and especially reviewed. Appreciated!**


	5. Outline

**So this is the rest of the plot for anyone interested... I apologize for not finishing it, but it would have taken me4ever. XD**

* * *

Mario and Wario, with PacMan in tow, go to try and find Samus and hire her for Bowser. They end up getting caught by the heroes. They radio for help and hide in their car as the heroes (Zelda, Sheik, and Lucina) begin setting a bomb. Mario expresses his wish to see Luigi at least one last time before he dies. Bowser Junior and Kamui (transformed as a dragon) swoop in at that moment and the heroes are forced to fall back, giving Mario and Wario enough time to escape. Kamui and Bowser Junior fly off as well. Link is proud of his heroes efforts, but frustrated by the failure. As Bowser was not in his own territory, he decides the giant koopa must be planning to attack the yard he _was_ in, which was Mac's yard. Bowser, furious at Mario, beats him and Wario slightly and sends out Dedede and Kirby to find Samus. Kirby tells Kamui (a girl again), before they leave, that he is going to run away and find Samus himself and bring her back. Kamui urges him against it, knowing the severe consequences and that he will fail, and he finally, sadly agrees.

* * *

Ike talks with Ganon about what Marth told him concerning Cloud and how many gems he wanted. Ganon decides he wants Ike or Falcon to go meet with Peach and ask her why she needs so many. Falcon is too eager to go, since he never wants to do anything, and Ike teases him about getting dressed up, pretending he thinks his brother likes Peach. Megaman decides to go with them. Roy teases them all about girls and Ike says something sexist. Mac debates with Ryu and Robin whether or not to give Peach what for because she trespassed. He does not know it was just Diddy, not under her orders. Robin suggests going for it and taking control of Chain Chomp, though he does not know how she controls him. Reflet explains who Fox is (a mercenary). Lyn provides the relationship between Fox and Wolf. Wolf is called, scolded, coldly ignores the scolding, and he and Lyn are sent off to spy on Peach. Link has a meeting with Palutena and Falco about attacking the gangs, which to go for first, and if air raids would be too dangerous with civilian lives at stake.

* * *

In front of Peach's desk, with a Mii on one side and a Donkey Kong on the other, Ike is not getting any answers he wants. Peach is trying to flirt with him, something he doesn't get, and Falcon has disappeared somewhere, saying he had to fix the car. Megaman loses his temper, Peach insults him, and Megaman goes to attack her. In the mess of the following brawl, Ike covers for Megaman and tells him to go tell Ganon what occurred. He then flees himself, meeting with Samus in the middle of the city. They fight, he is sexist, she is furious, and Dedede and Kirby discover them. Dedede and Kirby attack and both turn and fight the common enemy, wounding Kirby. Dedede flees and Kirby weakly whispers that he wanted to be free before he collapses. Since Kirby is not a human, Ike doesn't want him. Samus pretends she doesn't either and they leave each other alone, but she later picks him up and Fox meets her. She is furious that he was gone again when she could have died and he makes up an excuse and tells her that the heroes are making advances on the gangs. Samus has mixed feelings.

* * *

While Zelda is buying more gems, she sees Ike blow up at Falcon for leaving him in a tight position and reveals that Koro knows that he has been seeing Daisy. At that moment the sirens go off and Falco's air raid begins. He contacts Link after he has practically demolished the small black market base in Ganon's territory, and says the mission is accomplished. Zelda gets out alive. Falcon is wounded badly and Ganon is furious, sending out Roy, Marth, Ike and Koro to attack Bowser, whom he is sure is responsible. Peach figures out that Diddy has disappeared and Donkey is desperate and angry. Peach sends Daisy off to find Diddy, and she ends up finding Samus, who is tending to Kirby. Daisy helps Kirby heal with one of Ganon's gems, at which point she explains them to Samus. Then she takes Kirby back with her after hearing that Samus can't have him and already as a partner, though Samus mutters under her breath that her partner is gone again.

* * *

Wolf enters the scene to find Diddy tied up and about to be tortured by Mac and Robin, with Meta Knight and Lyn standing nearby. Diddy begs him to help him and Lucas and Villager help instead. Ryu lets loose his fury on them and Wolf abruptly decides to protect them, though he wasn't going to help Diddy. Fox leaps in and helps his cousin. Lucas and Villager flee the entire yard and Diddy gets free in the confusion as Mac orders his whole band to attack the two animals. Fox and Wolf fight and run together, but Wolf looks back and realizes Fox isn't with him. He goes back and carries his wounded cousin away, taking refuge in Ganon's area. Fox dies in his arms and Wolf cries, angry at money and at Mac. Ike, Roy, and Marth approach Bowser's chief marketplace and Ike spots Diddy. They attack, with Koro shooting from above, and there is a large face off between those four and WiiFit, Wario, Mario, Dedede, and finally Shadow Link, who frightens even Ike. And then the sirens start up.

* * *

Peach gets the report from Cloud that Diddy is somewhere out there and that Mac had a whole disruption with his people, losing a few, because of Diddy showing up, which is good in one sense, but means Mac will probably become very aggressive towards Peach and her yard in the near future. Lucas and Villager are found by Ness and Duck Hunt, who recognized Lucas' scent, and they are also adopted by Ganon, though they are extremely frightened. Villager is overjoyed to see the 'brave' Ness and Lucas is happy, too, but he wishes for a mother still. Samus sneaks into Mac's area, avoids Ryu, and murders Mac in revenge of Fox. Ryu chases her and she battles furiously with Lyn and Meta Knight. She is forced to lose her armor in order to make a swifter getaway. Wolf refuses to help her when she comes upon him, and she flees into Ganon's area and is instantly caught by Falcon. She is brought before Ganon, acts sullenly, and is put in a cell where Lucas comes and tries to ask her if she will be his mother. She hears Ryu's voice yelling.

* * *

Ike and Koro are getting knocked about by the falling bombs, and Marth is out of sight. Koro reveals that Cloud is his hero and Ike gets offended and they argue before Roy comes on the scene. He helps get them out of a mess when they are surrounded by Wario, Dedede and Mario. They kill Dedede and Ike tells him it serves him right for what he did to Kirby. Wario and Mario hightail it out of the way, and Ike and Roy and Koro discuss what the bombs are and that perhaps Little Mac sent them. They regroup and find that Marth is completely gone. Ike radios Ganon. Ganon is talking with Ryu and 'has to take this'. Ryu blows up while Ganon is talking with Ike. Ganon blows up back and Ike blows up over the phone. Ryu threatens them and leaves, revealing that Mac is dead. Ike doubts that he has actually left. He asks Falcon to go talk to Peach, something Falcon is only too happy to do. Megaman goes with Falcon and Pit in Falcon's car to talk to Peach, but for Falcon it's mostly Daisy. Ganon is alone with the three youngest. He calls Lucas, who tells him that Samus is now his mother. Samus returns, "Woah, dude, I _never_ said that." Samus is given slightly free range, though she has a tracker. She practices with her laser whip and tells Lucas she'd be a bad mother.

* * *

Marth finds Link and Sheik and talks to them, telling them that he wants to join the League. He doesn't tell which gang he's from. Corrin rales at him and Marth yells back. Marth is shocked to see Sheik (because when Zelda bought gems from them, she looked like Sheik), but hides his shock. He and Zelda get on very well as she congratulates him and tells him their goal in the nicest way possible to a former gang member. Zelda knows where he's from, but doesn't let on. Lucina tells Link she thinks he's a bad idea. At Bowser's, Kamui and Bowser Junior talk about Bowser and Kirby. Kamui is slightly mutinous and Bowser Junior, wanting recognition from his father, tells Bowser, who yells at him and tells him he's a liar. Now Junior has zero friends and he hides in his 'vehicle' and cries. Falcon meets Cloud, who throws a jab at him, guessing at his intentions for visiting due to Daisy. Megaman responds angrily, but calms them down and tells what has happened with the bombing, asking who is responsible and if the gems have anything to do with it. Peach comes in at that moment with Daisy and Sonic. Sonic doesn't want to communicate with them. Peach hears them out, but won't tell them anything. Daisy asks after Samus and Pit reveals where she is. Mr. Game and Watch slips out to tell Ryu.

* * *

Ganon tells Ike to come back, even without Marth, and that they should regroup and discuss the bombing raids. Sheik is out with Corrin. She is in the four yards and Corrin is in Bowser's territory, spying. Sheik avoids Koro and Roy and then decides to attack Ike, who looks strong. She wants to prove herself to herself. She fights him and Ike, surprised, mentions something about her visiting them at the store and accuses her of using Ganon's gems against them. She is clueless, but, silent, simply gathering this new information. Ike, after annoyed at getting boxed around, finally wounds her with his sword and goes off, leaving her instead of finishing her. Sheik wearily crawls to the bar for a drink and calls Corrin. Corrin has struck down Bowser Junior, whom he found hiding. Kamui comes to his rescue and it is brother v.s. sister. Corrin is extremely astonished and angry. Kamui is using strange magic against him and suddenly Bowser appears as Corrin gets a call from Sheik. He gets away, slightly scorched by Bowser's fireballs. Lyn flirts with Ryu and Game and Watch returns and tells Ryu where Samus is. Lyn offers to go get her. She goes off, but is caught by Chain Chomp as she cuts through Peach's land. She fights him and screams for help. Cloud rushes out, but they have run out of gems and Lyn dies. Chain Chomp breaks loose and heads for Daisy and Peach. Both escape, but Daisy goes back to catch Luma and Falcon drives in after her to save her. Megaman screams at them both to come back and Falcon blows up his car to destroy Chain Chomp and part of Peach's town as he also gets wounded, but doesn't die. Donkey Kong and Sonic jail him, and Daisy tearfully pleads with her stubborn sister for him. Cloud orders the two other brothers to leave or they will be jailed as well. Outnumbered, they furiously flee back to Ganon to tell him.

* * *

Ganon doesn't let his sons sleep in long, and orders them to report to him. He wants them to advise him concerning Samus. All are completely undignified. Ganon tells Ike to take Samus, whispering for him to set her free, but with a threat. As Ike does so, Samus attacks him with her whip. He is burned, but gets the better of her. After a stare off, he threatens her and releases her. Corrin and Sheik report to Link about the gems and conversations they had. Link is determined to go after Ganon first because of this. Marth and Lucina enter with news that there was an explosion in Peach's sector for some reason. Link sends them all out and talks seriously with Palutena, tells Falco to plot out the best place to strike next, and then Link decides they will all go to attack Ganon's area directly with Falco as bombing cover. Samus bumps into Kirby, who is going back to Bowser's place to find Kamui. He thanks her for saving him, but refuses to do anything for her except give her one of Ganon's gems by which he remembers Kamui. Samus takes it to the bar to figure out how to use it. Shadow Link is there and Samus, unrecognized by him, asks him about it. He talks to himself as he mulls and reveals that there have been bombing raids etc. at Bowsers place and that he thinks it is the heroes. As he continues to talk to himself she sees that he is on some sort of suicidal mission and she abruptly leaves him with the gem and hightails it out of there. A moment later, the bar blows up. Bowser presses Kamui for details about the gems and is going to torture her when Kirby comes back and interrupts him. Kirby gains confidence when he sees Dedede's hammer and grabs it, striking Bowser himself. Wario runs forward and uses gems to kill Kirby. Kamui screams and goes slightly crazy, spewing information about Ganon's gems and their power. Bowser has Wii Fit arrest Wario for his knowledge of the gems and sets Kamui at liberty. Mario enters as Wii Fit is going off and says Shadow was successful in his mission, there is no meeting place in the four yards, and that the heroes are attacking Ganon.

* * *

Ike comes across Link first and the two battle ferociously, Megaman coming to aid him finally. Lucina helps Link and both bros retreat to the stronghold itself, leaving the main marketplace unguarded. Thankfully, Link and Lucina don't realize it's a marketplace and follow them. Peach gets a report that Ganon is being attacked from Sonic. Ryu gets the same from Meta Knight. Robin explains that it's the heroes and they are making advances. He also tells Ryu of the gems he has figured out about from Mr. Game and Watch. He orders Reflet to go get them from the abandoned market. Reflet, frightened, obeys. The brothers are desperately battling and Ike tells Ganon they aren't up against Bowser or any gangs, but heroes. Then Falco begins bombing them. Reflet is attacked by Kamui, who is trying to get all the gems. They fight it out until Bowser Junior comes in and Reflet flees, giving them the gems she collected, which were not very many, since she wasn't actually at the main marketplace. Ike fights Sheik and is again furious, though surprised she isn't using her magic against him. And then he sees Zelda and makes the connection in front of Sheik before throwing the girl aside and running at Zelda. Robin beats Reflet for failing with his magic, and she finally retaliates with a gem she actually kept. It wounds Robin terribly, and Reflet flees to the four yards.

* * *

Ganon makes his appearance, saving Megaman's life, though Roy has been seriously wounded. He is angry and, using his own magic and gems, nearly kills Corrin. Marth saves him and Ganon is so absolutely betrayed he drops his hands. Marth gently attacks to simply bring Ganon to his knees. Ike sees and hears their conversation as sweat pours down his face during his battle with Zelda. He finally shoves her aside as he sees Marth bring Ganon to his knees. He runs at Marth and slashes at him viciously with his sword. Marth falls, fatally wounded, at Ganon's feet. Ganon, broken, gathers him in his arms. Ike, shocked at what he has done, is knocked out by Link. He hears Ganon sobbing about his son. Cloud tells Peach that Ganon's place has fallen and suggests, as soon as the heroes clear out, that they go in to get the gems before others take advantage of it. He suggests going through the main marketplace and finding any gems that Ganon has had in storage. Kamui is rewarded by Bowser for bringing the gems and Bowser Junior is given a reward as well, though it isn't a hug, like he wants. Mario, frightened by Bowser's potential power and knowledge of the gems, runs away. Pac man is sent after him and he gets away from him and finds Daisy, nursing Falcon slowly back to health. He tells her of Bowser's potential power and is caught by Mii and Donkey Kong. Reflet meets Diddy, who is a depressed teen. They talk of their pasts and decide to go and join Bowser, since Ganon is gone and neither want to go back to their former yards. Wolf joins them, yells at Diddy, but is surprised at Reflet. He hears what has happened and tells different histories, revealing that to work for anyone, it would have been best to have Ganon, but he doesn't adopt girls or animals, and therefore, it wouldn't matter. Ike is taken from the prison car, stripped of armor, and led away after he sees that Megaman is stripped of his armor as well, leaving him a weak teen who is disabled.

* * *

Link brings the heroes into the meeting room and has Zelda arrested there. She attempts to defend herself, but he has no mercy and sadly has her jailed. Ike is bitterly depressed. Reflet and Wolf and Diddy go to try and get the gems first and get chased off by bombs and electricity. Samus comes to them and, for a share, says she will get them in, because she knows the little boys are defending the place and Lucas wanted her as a mother. Reflet is hesitant about using a boy's psychological problems for that. Palutena has each brother, who is able, questioned about any other brothers back at their base. Ike, Megaman and Koro all say that there aren't any. Ganon is too depressed to respond and Link gets angry with him. Roy is too wounded to respond. Pit is hesitant and asks stupid questions, including asking what others responded with. He finally says yes. Lucina is sent to find them with Corrin. Link goes to Ike and tells him what Pit says, is angry at his lying and, getting no response, says why Ganon adopted him etc. Ike screams at him and slams the bars viciously, scaring him off. Mario is questioned by Peach and Cloud. Cloud goes off to try and get gems and meets up with the group. As Samus is attempting to speak with the boys, he tries to attack while the boys are off guard. He is injured heavily and Samus is as well. Both barely escape. Ness, Lucas and Villager have a meeting and talk about continuing to defend it until the bros get home, because they can't go in after them. Ness assures them that Ganon at least will come back because he is extremely powerful. They don't access the 'forbidden' room of gems, because it is against Ganon's rules.

* * *

Ike begs Sheik with tears to be able to see his father after she tells him he is dying. He goes to Ganon, who won't talk with him until Ike apologizes for killing Marth and expresses his deep remorse and guilt. Ganon forgives him and then begs him to take the other boys away from illegality and to help destroy the other gangs. He explains that he was a terrible father and apologizes mournfully, begging Ike to take over as man of the house, to raise them right, and to get them out of that environment, as well as warning him of Bowser's knowledge of the gems and his fear of what might happen. He then gives Ike gems to escape. Ike does so, bringing Zelda with them. Roy is too sick to go and Ike is forced to leave him behind. He escapes with Koro and Megaman and Pit and Zelda and they get their armor back. They hurry back down into the inner city to help their brothers. Peach leaves Daisy in charge to find Cloud with Sonic. They find Reflet and the others tending them and have a guarded, tentative conversation regarding getting the gems. Peach, after asked, suddenly realizes she doesn't really need them anymore, since Chain Chomp is gone and accuses Cloud of being stupid. He returns that he was trying to get them for them so that Bowser couldn't get them. At that moment Wii Fit comes and says that Bowser killed Wario for not telling him about the gems and then tells them that he is coming, in person to get the rest of the gems, empowered already by the gems Kamui and Bowser Junior already stole for him. They look with foreboding towards the pathetic stronghold protected by the little bros.

* * *

Link is furious with the escape and instantly goes after them with Corrin and Lucina and Sheik. Samus begs the boys to let them in to let them help defend the place against Bowser or he will destroy them all. The boys debate and then refuse because they don't trust her. She begins to cry. Bowser thuds into view at that moment, larger than normal and his eyes glowing slightly pink. The frightened group attempts to attack him, but he swats Diddy to the side and kills Wii Fit and Sonic. Reflet, Samus and Cloud flee and hide together in a building. Wolf fled with Peach to get help from her cronies and perhaps even from Ryu's yard as well. Bowser is fighting the boys' electricity and finally smashes open some of the stronghold. He orders Bowser Junior and Kamui to enter and bring out the gems. Kamui refuses and stands firm as he shoots fireballs at her. The bros arrive at that moment and she is tackled inside the stronghold and drawn into a room with them. She witnesses a puzzling reunion between brothers and bursts into tears because she misses her brother. They can't be happy for long and they leave the best suited for defense inside while Ike and Koro and Kamui go out and fight Bowser, who ends up crashing through Cloud, Samus and Reflet's defense building. Peach arrives with her people: Daisy, Luigi, Mii and Donkey Kong, who instantly attack Bowser viciously. Falcon is actually with them and Ike sees him as he fights and gives him a rough embrace before they rescue Daisy and Luigi together and get a cheer out of it. Koro gets to fight right alongside Cloud, who ignores him. Bowser breaks through the defense and they all attack at once, desperately. Except the bros go to help their other bros. Samus ends up rescuing Lucas and Koro leaves Cloud to help Pit, who is helping Duck Hunt due to Ness' hysterical pleas as he is held back by Falcon. Megaman keeps Bowser from them with a bomb and they get out and in the surrounding buildings, watching in horror as Bowser turns into Giga Bowser as he gets the stash of gems that the boys saved from the main market.

* * *

They fight Giga Bowser and defeat him, Samus, Link, and Ike dealing the final blows, with Zelda, Cloud, and Koro injuring him before. The young boys, with Reflet and Daisy and Falcon get gems and give them to Samus, Link and Ike, which is what helps them finally defeat Bowser. Link tells Ike he will not recapture him or his bros. He destroys the gems with Sheik etc.

* * *

Ike and his bros, along with Reflet and Kamui, rebuild Ganon's lair. Ike talks to Corrin and initiates reconciliation between him and Kamui. Bowser Junior is planning to commit suicide, but the young boys stop him. Ike talks to Link, tells him to forgive Zelda, and explains his plan for some sort of orphanage. Link agrees and offers him a job. Ike accepts. The orphanage is finished and all are invited to the opening. Samus, crushing on Ike, teases him about not being as rough with her as he is with his brothers, since they play all together. Ike responds by tackling her, but gently. Samus realizes he's still not being as rough, but she actually likes gentleness. Lucas finishes by asking Samus to be his mom again. Samus accepts this time, pledging to be the best mom she knows how. Lucas nods. Villager breaks in with a 'me too?' and then wonders aloud if Samus is their mom, that must mean Ike is now their dad instead of brother, to which Ike turns a fiery red and everyone laughs.

* * *

 **Yup. I actually still like the plot, overall. At least the kind of general idea. :-) Maybe I'll use it one day. TTFN**


End file.
